On election night, New York voters flipped the State Senate.
I'm counting on you to seize this historic opportunity without delay and pass legislation that will:
• Protect our democracy by updating antiquated voting laws. We need early voting, automatic voter registration, and electronic poll books. You should also support legislative resolutions to amend the New York State Constitution, Article 2, Section 2 — the first step toward a public referendum making absentee ballots an option for all New Yorkers, regardless of their circumstances.
• Safeguard reproductive rights by removing abortion from New York's criminal code and creating affirmative protections for reproductive health care through the passage of the Reproductive Health Act and the Comprehensive Contraceptive Coverage Act.
• Achieve equal justice under the law by passing strong bail reform that makes sure people aren't kept in jail simply because they are too poor to pay their bail. Such legislation should not include any loopholes that could lead to even more people stuck behind bars pre-trial.
• Close the loopholes in our Human Rights law to protect transgender New Yorkers and children in public schools from discrimination.
These urgent reforms have been stymied by Albany gridlock for too long. They are needed now more than ever since Trump has made clear he will use every tool at his disposal to destroy the fabric of our democracy.
